The Sepang International Circuit outside Kuala Lumpur was designed by Hermann Tilke and built to host the first Malaysian Grand Prix in 1999.

The circuit’s main grandstand faces in opposite directions onto two long straights joined by a hairpin which forms the track’s final corner. The combination of long straights and varied low, medium and high-speed turns requires teams to strike a compromise between high downforce for cornering performance and low drag for straight-line speed.

Conditions at the track are reliably hot and humid, and late afternoon thunderstorms are a common occurrence. These have affected several races and qualifying sessions at the track, notably in 2009 when the race was abandoned and half-points awarded following a downpour.